Five Ticks Till Im Yours (Ticci Toby x Reader)
by lSecondChancel
Summary: They were after you. You weren t sure why, nothing really made sense. Somehow they were convinced you knew something, they wanted answers; answers you didn t have. After being kidnapped, abused, and interrogated; you were more then ready to give up. That was until he came along, sparking a little bit of hope inside you. (Rated M for violence, language, sexual themes)
1. The Perks of a Hairdryer

I`ve had this story stashed away in my documents for a while, recently decided to give it a whirl. As a reminder, this story is dark, and has a fair share of adult themes. You`ve been warned! Anyways, I hope you guys like it :3 All feedback heavily appreciated.

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Fear and shock.

Two emotions, both very different but yet they were often found in the same places. It`s not like you particularly paid attention to your emotions, but it was hard not to today. Whirling around, you dove behind a dumpster, not exactly something you were too enthusiastic about. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. Fighting back the urge to throw up, you scooted closer to the cold metal, your nose crinkling at the smell.

Everything was still for the next few moments, nothing moved, nothing stirred. The only audible sound was the beating of your heart; fierce and strong as it hammered against your ribcage. Instinctively your hand pressed over your lips, muffling your breathing as you tried to integrate into the quietness. Silently you wished the world would just swallow you up; hide you, if only for a moment. But it didn`t. Nothing happened, and perhaps that would be okay as well. Perhaps everything would be okay.

As if on cue you heard soft footsteps, your peace of mind shattering in an instant. Your body couldn`t help but tense as you prayed the darkness would hide you. Coyly your eyes wandered to the bricked wall a little ahead of you; indicating the end of the alleyway. You were trapped in here. It`s not like you were trying to get cornered, a girl could only run so fast before tiring; even with adrenaline pumping through her veins. Unfortunately for you this was the case. There was no way you could`ve kept running, you needed a break, you needed to hide. You needed _him_ to not notice you.

The footsteps continued now, becoming louder with each passing seconds. To your dismay he was coming into the alley. But why? How did he know you were hiding here? Well… perhaps he didn`t. Of course, he didn`t. There was no way he saw you go in here, there was no way he knew. This was probably a precaution of sorts, he`d simply glance around to be sure then leave. There was no way he`d notice you behind the dumpster; the shadows provided enough cover.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped, the sharp whistling of wind replacing the silence.

You closed your eyes, waiting, praying, hoping.

(Earlier that Night)~

You had come home with a bag full of books and papers, your laptop in your arms; pressed against your chest. Sighing, you had opened the front door, placing your items on a table before walking into the washroom without a word. Your towel was where you had left it, hanging on the rack, simply waiting for you. After acknowledging it you preceded to take your clothes off, tossing them aside before you turned on the shower. The hot water felt good against your skin; melting away the stress of the day.

Life sucked.

You felt petty and privileged for thinking like that, but it was true. Your life was so boring, so plain, and so full of work. There was no time for breakfast when you had so much sleep to catch up on, the daily load of university homework and classes had you booked. Not to mention how difficult it was to juggle school with your job. If only your boss wasn`t so strict, if only he`d give you a little more free-time. But then, how would you pay for this place?

It wasn`t always so bad.

It used to be a lot easier a few months ago, back when you lived with your roommate; Claire. She wasn`t exceptionally nice, but the two of you did get along, in all honestly she was kind of funny. Like the big sister you never wanted, but couldn`t help appreciating. She helped you pay rent, even going as far as to help you study. You weren`t childhood friends or anything, instead you had met by chance. She needed a place, you needed a place, and splitting the rent sounded like a good idea at the time.

Too bad she left so abruptly, leaving you nothing but a note? The nerve of some people.

Silently you began working shampoo into your hair before angling your head underneath the showerhead. Your attention turned to the drain as you got the shampoo out, watching the bubbly water trail down your body. It was better to distract yourself with simple things. Far better then pondering all the things you had yet to do. Three essays? A huge reading list? And work first thing tomorrow morning? Damn, now you`re thinking about it.

Shaking the thoughts off, you turned off the shower, pulling away the curtain as you reached for your towel. Quickly you dried yourself off, wrapping the towel around your body before stepping out. You couldn`t help but shiver as your skin came in contact with the cold. It was autumn, and the heating was far too expensive. You rather save your money to pay for it during the winter. For now you`d just have to endure.

Easily you pulled open the door, slipping down the hallway and into your bedroom to find some clothes. Your bedroom was pretty simple; a small bed, desk, and dresser. Most of your things were littered onto your desk, the rest of your belongings were packed into the dresser. Speaking of said belongings, you crouched down in front of the dresser; pulling open a drawer before rummaging around for clothes. You weren`t really picky at the moment, plucking out a pair of undergarments on random before slipping them on. You moved your attention to another drawer as you reached for a plain sweater. The wool material felt nice, providing some much needed warmth.

Deciding it would go well with a pair of track pants, you began searching for some, when suddenly your heard a sound. Immediately you froze. It wasn`t just any sound, not like the creaking of wood, or wind against a window. Instead it was very distinct, very vocal, very human.

You couldn`t help the gasp that escaped your lips as you turned around, your emotions flickering between shock and fear. There, leaning against an opposing wall was a man. If you could even call him that. His face was mutilated and destroyed, his skin sickeningly white, his eyes large and frantic, his smile... oh god his smile. You weren`t sure what terrified you more. His appearance, or the fact that he was holding a knife. A freaking knife!

"Done ignoring me?" his voice was dark and raspy, almost gratingly so. Suddenly you felt sick, this creep had just seen you naked, he watched you change. Instinctively you pulled the hem of your sweater down, trying to cover up as much of your naked legs as you could. His grin only grew wider, making you cringe as you began searching the room, wondering where your phone was. Then you realized something. Your phone, along with the rest of your belongings were still on the table outside. Perhaps that wouldn`t have been an issue if the man wasn`t blocking your path to the door.

"Who are you?" your voice was surprisingly bold, not at all reflecting the fear you felt.

"The names Jeff." He replied, moving away from the wall as he took a step closer to you, "And you?"

"Y/N. How`d you get in here?"

"Front door."

"Why are y-"

"Do you ever shut up?" he cut you off, now standing a few inches away from you.

"I-" he slapped you. Hard.

Your vision blurred for a second as you were literally thrown to the ground, the force of his hand incredibly strong. Gasping for air you tried to sit up, you hand coming to caress the stinging in your cheek. Biting back the urge to cry, you glared up at him. He only chuckled at your shocked look, taking no time to suddenly pounce on you. This time you screamed as he grabbed your wrists, pinning them down with one hand, while his other hand pressed his knife against your stomach. The feeling of cold metal so close to your skin made you quiet. The intent in his eyes told you he would easily kill you if you didn't comply.

"That`s better." He practically growled, taking in the sight of you before trailing his knife up your stomach and to your throat. "It`s been a while since I`ve had such a pretty victim." You couldn`t help but turn your head away as he leaned in close; his hot breath fanning across your face. Being so close to him, you now realized how monstrous his face truly was. His eyelids were gone, the texture of his skin leather-like. The skin around his lips was scarred and jagged, mutilated into a horrible Glasgow smile. What in the world had happened to this man?

"Like what you see?" he caught onto your staring, "Aren`t I beautiful?'

Before you could tell the bastard exactly what you thought of him, there was a noise. A loud, crashing noise; as if someone had pushed something over.

"Someone`s getting frustrated." Jeff chuckled, glancing at the door before turning to you; his eyes lighting up. "You know what? I bet you`d look much better with a brand new smile. A perfect, permanent smile." As if to emphasize his point he licked his lips, relishing in your horror. You couldn`t help but squirm and thrash as he brought his knife to your lips, digging it into your mouth before attempting to tear through your cheeks.

In one final, adrenaline-filled attempt to save yourself from a whole lot of pain, you threw your entire body upward. Somehow you managed to push him off, giving you enough time to scramble onto your feet. The first thing he did was reach for his knife, but instinctively you dashed for it first; plucking it off the ground and pointing it at him. He only stared at you furiously, his features noticeably darkening. If you weren`t holding the knife right now; you would most certainly be terrified.

"Why you little bitch." He sounded beyond angry as he glared at you with those insane eyes, silently promising you hell.

"Back up." You ordered, gesturing with the knife as you tried to get him to move away; he was still too close to the door, making escape possible.

Instead of doing as you asked, he took a step closer; completely ignoring your threat. You couldn`t help but step back as he moved closer, soon finding yourself against a wall. Even with the knife in hand you felt helpless. You didn`t have the will to stab him; to take his life. Despite what he tried to do to you, there was no way you could kill him. You weren`t a murderer.

"I don`t want to hurt you." You admitted, "Just let me leave."

"You think you can fucking hurt me? **Me**?!" he laughed, his tone laced with insanity, "Oh darling, I`m going to have _fun_ with you."

You were now understanding your situation. This man was insane and he didn`t care if you had a knife; he was going to hurt you regardless. Your will to live preceded your fear and in a blur you reached for the hairdryer that was lying on your dresser; throwing it straight at his head. He managed to dodge it, but not before you flung a perfume bottle at him; this one nailing him in the face. He growled, his hand covering his face and giving you enough time to slip past him. Quickly you tore open the door, completely ignoring your phone as you turned to the front door. Your fingers were on the lock at an instant; every bit of your being hell-bent on escape.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

You faintly glanced behind yourself, noticing another man standing in your living room. This one looked almost as odd as Jeff; his eyes hidden behind a pair of worn googles. His presence explained the noises from earlier as you noticed the state of your living room; furniture had been flung over while most of your belongings littered the floor. As soon as you heard the lock click, you threw the door open, noticing the mans expression darken as you shot out the door. Instantly you ran down the hall, trying to reach the stairwell at the end. There was no time to wait for elevators considering the stranger was right behind you. You risked a quick glance behind yourself as you pulled open the stairwells door. The man was holding a pair of axes as he gained behind you. God, who were these people?!

Somehow you managed not to trip as you leapt over stair sets, trying to put as much distance between the strangers and yourself. You barely acknowledged the cold autumn air against your naked legs as you ran out through the buildings back exit. Your neighbourhood was a quiet one, few people lived here, and most would stay off the streets at night. So, the likeliness of finding someone to help you was low. Heck there was a larger chance of you running into a gang member or drug dealer instead.

You kept on running for god knows how long before you began to feel tired. Your legs burned and ached, forcing you to slow down as you glanced around for help. The streets were absolutely desolate, not a single person in sight. Hesitantly your eyes fell on an alley, before you glanced back at the streets behind you. He`d be catching up at any second.

Biting back your dread, you ran into the alley.

(Currently0~

"Th-there you are."

You practically sobbed as you opened your eyes, your gaze landing on the axe-wielding stranger. He was crouching in front of you now, his face inches away, his axes raised by his sides. How he got so close without you noticing, you would never know.


	2. The Downsides of Not Knowing

Things hopefully get a little interesting now. And as always, feedback appreciated.

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Your eyes opened slowly, the tiredness in them still evident as you blinked a few times. The first thing you recognized was the dull light of a single lamp that sat in the corner. Slowly, you made an attempt to move, noticing only then the chains that connected your hands to a hook in the wall. Speaking of the wall, it was filthy. There were dark stains scattered all over it, a strange, gooey substance oozed a little away from your head. Recoiling in disgust, you scooted away from it, regretting it as soon as you felt something wet underneath you.

Slowly your senses began to adjust, and you couldn`t help but gag as an awful smell made itself known. You felt like puking, it was worse then anything you could imagine, rotting, decaying, disgusting.

"Awake at last."

The memories that came with that raspy voice sent a shiver down your spine.

You turned your head away as Jeff squatted down in front of you, the faint light of the lamp illuminated his features in the worst way. For a second he was silent, simply staring before inhaling sharply. Forcefully his fingers dug into your jaw as he lifted it up, forcing you to stare into his eyes.

"Remember me?" his voice was low, dangerously so.

You swallowed your fear, breathing shakily before searching around the room, trying to figure out a plan of sorts. You had to do something, anything to get away. There were so many questions whirling around your head. Where were you? Who was he? What did he want? Not knowing if you`d get a better opportunity, you decided to take a risk.

"Where-" in a flash your head swung around, pain spreading through your face as you gasped. Did he just slap you again? Bastard.

"Did I say you could fucking talk?" he sneered.

Your situation began to become clear now. You were at the mercy of this psychopath, it didn`t matter what he wanted; it couldn`t be anything good. If one word was enough to provoke his temper, then there was no way you would get out of this unscathed. That is if you even got out of it. No, don`t think like that. Of course, you`ll get out of this, whatever _this_ was. You weren`t going to abandon hope, not now, not ever. By tomorrow this should be nothing but a memory. By next year this should be nothing but a story. That`s right, a simple, silly story to tell your friends.

"I`m going to ask you a few questions." You shivered as you felt something cold press against your lower stomach. Hesitantly you glanced down to see him holding his knife against the thin layer of fabric that covered your stomach. It was that same knife from before, he had gotten it back. The simple sight of it was enough to make you shrink back in fear. "And you`ll give me honest answers." You couldn`t help but squirm a little as he pressed the blade in deeper, tearing through the fabric. You could now feel the metal on your skin, the sensation filling your body with dread. "And if you lie, you`re going to fucking wish I had killed you before." his free hand came to grip your waist, holding you still. " _Understand?_ "

You nodded.

"That`s a good girl." His attention went from your face to his knife, "So, where`s Claire?"

Claire? Your roommate? Why were they looking for her? Quickly you tried to recall everything you could about her, anything that could link her to these psychos. Unfortunately nothing came to mind, Claire was as normal as normal could be. She had moved out two months ago, leaving you a rather cryptic note about business issues. All of her stuff was gone, it almost seemed as if she never existed. When you texted or called, she wouldn`t answer, and eventually you had given up. If she wanted to be left alone, then who were you to care?

"Fucking answer me." In a matter of seconds the man`s patience disappeared into nothing, his fingers tangling into your hair as he slammed your head into the wall with enough strength to leave a dent. In both the wall and your head.

"She was my roommate!" you gasped at the throbbing in your head.

"No shit. Where is she?"

The pain in your head was nothing compared to the pure agony you felt as he harshly pulled his knife away from your stomach, only to growl as he dug it into your thigh. Screaming you jolted up, worsening the pain as you tried to get a handle on your senses, as you tried so desperately to bare it.

"I-I don`t know!" you practically cried the words out, your eyes widening at the sight of the blade in your thigh. Your blood was gushing all around it, dark and thick as it trickled down your skin. The gash seemed huge, you could practically see your torn muscles.

"What did I say about lying?" he growled, pushing the knife further until it went through the wooden floor; nailing you down. "Do you think I`m fucking stupid? That bitch tried the same tactic, thinking she could fool me. __Listen closely _princess_ , it didn`t work out for her, and it sure in hell ain`t gonna work out for you."

Was he talking about Claire? Oh god was she here too, had this monster hurt her?

"I swear I don`t know." You insisted, your voice a feign whisper.

He only glared at you, twisting the knife inside your flesh and forcing another scream out of you. He didn`t believe you. It was as simple as that, he thought you knew something you didn`t, and he was going to kill you to get what he wanted. Why was this happening to you? What had you done to deserve any of this? You were a nice person, you tried your best to be good, to be civil. Sure, you act out sometimes, but everyone does. You remembered what Claire used to say, insisting that the hardships of life were god's tests. She was quite religious, not that you minded. For a moment you wondered if she was right, if this was some sick, twisted test.

"Jeff."

The madman before you tensed, sighing loudly before standing up, pushing his knife into his hoodies pocket.

"She`s fine…" he sneered, his attention no longer on you, but at the newcomer. Hesitantly you opened your eyes to see an approaching figure, followed by the noise of a door closing. A door? So there was an exit, that`s comforting.

You heard soft footsteps before the figure stepped into the lamp light. You recognized him as the man in your living room, the one with the axes... Nervously you glanced at him, meeting his eyes before he turned away with a slight twitch. While the two of them had their hushed conversation you slowly began to feel the pain in your leg intensifying. Slowly your eyes wandered to the gushing wound in your thigh. You could barely recognize the limb; most of the skin hidden behind dark layers of blood.

Wincing you tried to sit up, immediately regretting it as the pain doubled.

"D-don`t move." The goggled man was suddenly beside you. How he moved so fast without you noticing; you still weren`t sure. With another twitch, he crouched down, pressing his hand over the wound. You couldn`t help but squeak in pain, jumping up slightly as he applied a little more pressure. Was it his turn to torture you now?

Cautiously you watched him, not entirely sure how to defend yourself. He backed up slightly, grabbing at his sleeve before tearing it off harshly. He then turned to you, giving you another look before turning to your wound with a twitch. You weakly tugged on your chains, not entirely sure what new form of torture awaited you. He lifted your leg up, wrapping the sleeve around it before tying it extremely tightly.

"She`s n-no good to us dead J-Jeff." This time his stuttering was more noticeable.

"She isn`t dead, now is she?" he grumbled, glaring at you with irritation before digging his hands into his pockets, "Fuck this, I`ll be upstairs." He began to leave, heavy boots trudging against the floor when he stopped, scoffing "But don`t you dare think I`m done with you."

You only stared at the floor as the footsteps continued, not moving until you heard the door close. Now you turned your head to the newcomer. For a moment he stared at you, before backing up to push his goggles up into his hair. You now met his eyes, the colour of them brown, much like his tousled hair. The rest of him was still fairly covered, a face-mask of sorts was wrapped around his mouth, giving way to the rest of his strange attire. Even though you couldn`t see much of him; you decided he didn`t look too bad. Heck, compared to Jeff he was a supermodel. Anything beats that smile. You shuddered.

"Where am I?" you now noticed how dry your voice was, but what did you expect after screaming so much? "Is this some sort of sick torture chamber?"

"Th-this is actually the waiting room. Torture chambers across the hall."

Was that a joke?

"Who are you?" you asked a little more cautiously, at least he didn`t hit you.

"You have other th-things to worry about." He twitched yet again, this time the humorous tone gave way to something darker.

You stiffened as he leaned over you, grabbing your chained wrists with one hand. You couldn`t see what he was doing, but you heard soft, metallic clinking, and then suddenly the chains released you. With wide eyes, you pulled your hands in front of you, tenderly rubbing your wrists. They, much like the rest of you, felt sore. Without realizing it you looked up at the man, smiling gratefully.

"Thank you." You muttered, wanting to say more before he suddenly grabbed one of your hands, holding it up against the wall.

"Don`t mi-misunderstand." You watched his other hand go down towards his belt, and with horror you saw his axes hanging off the belt loops. Smoothly he lifted one up, spreading your fingers with his hand before pressing the blade of his axe to your pinky finger. You couldn`t even breathe as you stared at him. "I w-won`t kill you, but I`ll do things far worse to get you to ta-talk."

"I don`t know where Claire is!" You practically cried out, "I swear, I`m not lying."

He examined you carefully, before raising his axe into the air.

"Wa-wait! Stop!" you were screaming yet again, squirming desperately to get away as he brought the axe down. You couldn`t bare to watch, your eyes shutting tightly as you waited for the pain to hit you. Seconds passed before you risked a peak, your breath shallowing at the sight of his axe hovering against your skin. Your eyes flickered from the weapon to his expression; trying to understand what he was thinking. Did he believe you? Was he just playing with you?

Suddenly his whole body twitched, and you yelped as the axe dug into your finger. It was a stinging, metallic pain; not nearly as intense as the gash in your thigh. At least the finger wasn`t completely cut off, it was more like a little scratch; like a little accident.

" _Woops_." He barely whispered the word, his tone more amused then apologetic.

"Please…" you hated this, begging for mercy, it was degrading. But what choice did you have? You couldn`t escape, you couldn`t negotiate, all you could truly do was plead. "Let me go."

"Y-you need to give me a re-rea-reason to." He spoke softly, "I`m not a torture guy… I can make it hu-hurt like hell, but that`s if I can k-k-kill `em. Chopping people up into little bits, arms first, th-then legs, then slashes through the torso. Th-the-they usually last a few minutes."

You could barely hide your disgust. This man was demented, completely and utterly sick.

"But ke-keeping them alive? That`s difficult." He continued, "Jeff and I, we aren`t really g-good at the torture thing. But we know people who are. If you d-d-don`t give us answers, then getting chopped up will sound like a dream co-compared to what they`ll do to you."

"I really don`t know where she is…" you muttered, hoping that maybe this time he`d believing you, "She was my roommate, sh-she worked at a Starbucks, and went to the same university as me… she left one day, her stuff was all gone, she left a note on the fridge, said she had business to attend. I… I never got in touch with her after that. I don`t know where she went…"

He sighed, before mumbling a simple: "Okay."

What did that mean? Did he believe you? Would he let you go now, would this nightmare finally come to an end? You parted your lips to speak again when a sharp sensation filled you. Every inch of your being felt as if it had been set on fire, and with sheer shock you turned your head to see his axe buried into your finger; the blade touching the other side of the wall. You only stared, unable to scream, unable to breathe. Your body and mind were both struggling to grasp what had happened; to accept what he had just done.


	3. More then Human

Well ain`t Toby a meanie :c

Disclaimer: I don`t own any of these characters, all rights go to their respected owners.

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It had taken an hour of silent sobbing before you found the will to stand up. Unfortunately, you just fell back to the ground, the gash in your thigh making it impossible to move your legs without feeling like you were on fire. Gasping for air, you tried to crawl, your mind and body deadest on escaping.

The man with the goggles had left a while ago, not saying anything as he pulled his axe out; leaving you too horrified to react. Even now you couldn`t bare to look at your hand. You had expected one of them to come back soon; to continue questioning and tormenting you. At first you were willing to wait for them; all thoughts of escape severed. Just like your finger. You cringed at the thought, continuing to drag your legs along until you stumbled to the door.

But after waiting for a while, you decided you couldn`t give up. You wanted to live. You were going to live, dammit.

Grasping your good hand around the knob, you tugged desperately. It was locked. A part of you knew it would be locked, those monsters despite how twisted they were- were not stupid. Of course they`d lock the door. Forcing yourself to calm down, you glanced around the room. What were you going to do now? You doubted they`d leave a spare key in the room, and you doubted you had the strength to bust the door down.

As if to worsen the situation, you began to hear footsteps; heavy footsteps.

First you felt fear crawling up your spine, followed by the throbbing pain that plagued your body. You knew it was about to get worse. Much, much worse. Then suddenly it hit you. With a grim frown, you forced yourself onto your feet again, clenching your teeth to keep from yelping in pain. You didn`t have time to crawl around, and your determination to escape was far greater then the pain in your thigh. You quickly headed towards the lamp, searching for the plug before yanking it out. The room was consumed by darkness, and following nothing but instinct, you lifted up the lamp, making you way back to the door. You pressed your back into the wall, your hands tightening around the lamp. You felt the flesh of your ruined finger press up against the dusty object, making you wince in bitter pain.

The next sound you heard was that of a key, soft crinkling followed before the door was thrown open; slamming against the opposing wall. You were glad you chose to hide on this side, rather then the other. Having that door slam into your stomach didn`t sound too good. The man, who you recognized as Jeff, quickly took a step into the room. Before he could notice you missing, you quickly you lashed out; slamming the lamp into his head. You heard him groan as he fell with a thud, his hands coming to examined the back of his head.

You were hoping the impact would knock him out, but somehow he was conscious as he tried to sit up. Something primal inside you sparked as you dropped the lamp on his head again, delivering a few swift kicks into his stomach. God, how you hated this man.

Your breathing was ragged by the time you were done; all of your anger condensed into your kicks. It felt good to get a little rage out, to hurt those who were hurting you. What made it a little unsatisfying was the fact that he was still conscious. You watched as he began to get up, the fire in his eyes intensifying. Why wouldn`t he just stay down?

You knew you couldn`t outrun him, not with that gash in your thigh. So instead you looked to the door, noticing the key was still in place. Quickly you moved over his stirring body, getting outside the room before pulling the door closed. You decided to grab the key before turning to scan your surroundings. Hopefully he wasn`t capable of busting down a door either. Your kicks must have at least ensured that, right?

A sinking part of you doubted that. There seemed to be something off about that man, there seemed to be something off about both of them actually. Something wrong. Inhumane. A sharp bang pulled you out of your thoughts, and you quickly turned to see the door shake. He was on his feet already?

"You fucking bitch!" you heard the man yell, shaking you to your core as you took a few steps back, "Open this damn door, now!"

Yeah, no.

Quickly you began to run down the hall, adrenaline finding its way into you body, making the pain in your leg more bearable. The room you were in was at the end of the hall, and by the looks of it there were no other rooms, but instead a wooden stair set. You dashed over the steps, finding yourself in a fairly large room. It wasn`t very fancy, there was a single mattress in one corner, and another door at one end. Your attention though, was on the large wooden door on the other side: the exit. You practically clawed at the handle, your breathing heavy as you tore it open.

Now you realized where you were. A cabin. A damn cabin in the middle of god-knows-where. At least the other man was nowhere in sight, perhaps if you run you could find a road; some form of civilization. Anything beats standing around and waiting for Jeff to come barging out with his knife in hand.

After inhaling as much air as you could, you shot off, forcing your legs to move as you ran into the woods. Adrenaline kept you coordinated, and somehow you managed not to trip on the roots and sticks that littered the uneven ground. You instinctively skirted around trees, using your hands to keep balance. Finally, you began to realize how even the ground was getting, how the foliage was concentrated on the sides. You were on a trail. A trail! That means people came by here, civilization couldn`t be much further.

As an answer to your prayers, you began to see the edges of a road. Brushing past another tree, you found yourself standing at the side of a freeway. You practically cried out as you fell to your knees, a wide grin etching over your features. You made it, you were going to survive. But it wasn`t over yet, you still had to find your way into town. Still, a bit of optimism returned as you began to walk along the road. The adrenaline was slowly fading, forcing you to endure a little more pain as you dragged your battered leg along.

You were limping around for little over ten minutes when you saw a pair of headlights. A sleek, SUV drove by; coming to an abrupt stop by you. You sighed gratefully as a man exited the car; he was dressed in a business-like suit.

"Oh god miss, are you okay?" he was by your side in no time, worry visible in his aged features. You couldn`t form a proper reply, and to your surprise you felt tears well up in your eyes. You realized now how scared you truly were, how terrifying and traumatizing the whole ordeal was. The man slowly helped you into the car, placing you gently in the front seat before heading over to the driver's side. For a second you were concerned, could you trust this stranger? Hesitantly you glanced around, your body relaxing when you noticed an empty car seat in the back. He had kids, he was a family man, a father.

"What happened to you?" he began to ask as he pulled his seatbelt on, "Were you alone out here?"

"Kidnapped…" your voice was far weaker then you originally had thought, "Please, before they find us."

He nodded vigorously, his hand going to his phone as he tossed it to you. "Call the cops," his attention then turned to your ruined hand, "If you can…" He was concerned, truly and honestly concerned for you. That feeling alone made you relax a little as you used your good hand to dial in the numbers. He began to drive as you pulled the phone to your ear, your eyes on the passing trees as you waited.

"911, what`s your emergency?"

You began to explain your entire situation, briefly mentioning the kidnapping and torment before going over your escape and current situation. The lady listened intently before promising to send a squad to find the cabin and arrest the kidnappers. She also sent an ambulance to meet you down the road.

As she hung up, you handed the phone to the man, who quietly took it before turning his attention to the road.

"That sounds awful…" he sighed, his eyes darting to a water bottle that laid on the dashboard, "Are you thirsty?"

You nodded gratefully, carefully picking up the bottle before attempting to open it. Your injured hand made that impossible, and the man paused in his driving to open it for you. The feeling of water rushing down your throat was like heaven. It was cooling, refreshing in the best way. You had never realized how great water was until now.

Exhaling softly, you placed the bottle back, allowing your head to fall back. Slowly you closed your eyes, relaxing completely. The pain you felt become a soft throbbing in the back of your mind, your instincts becoming less alert as you felt your energy slipping. It wasn`t a bad feeling, instead it was an exhausting feeling. Like an urge to go to sleep, to close your eyes and let go for a while. Honestly you welcomed it, the idea of resting sounded so refreshing. You were safe now anyways; a little nap would be good for you.

Not that it mattered, you doubted you could resist the exhaustion that was taking you over.

Your eyes quickly snapped open as you heard a scream, the whole car coming to a harsh stop as you were thrown up. If it wasn`t for the seatbelt, you would surely go flying out the windshield.

"What in the world…" the man beside you gasped, and you felt dread wash over you at the sight of the axe sticking out of his chair; inches away from his head. Before either of you could move, your door was pulled open; two strong hand came to grab the collar of your sweater, pulling you out and tossing you onto the ground. You couldn`t help but cry out as your wounded body hit the hard concrete that made up the road.

No, no, no, no! This couldn`t be happening. You had escaped them, you had gotten away, there was no way they caught up to you. Despite all that, you couldn`t deny the sight of the man in front of you; his body heaving, indicating he had run quite a distance to catch up. His goggles were over his eyes this time, face mask pulled up, giving you no glimpses of his expression. No idea of what he was thinking, of how angry he could be.

You began to climb onto your feet, watching as he reached into the car to grab his axe before turning to you. Your hand ached as you put pressure on it, but regardless you stood up, your body backing up as he stalked forward. His hands twitched as he moved, making him more intimating as the axes ticked in his grip.

"Don`t hurt her!" you felt a mix of emotions as the man from earlier had stepped out of the car, his hand grasped around his phone, "We`ve already called the cops, they`ll be here any second."

You doubted that threat would be enough to get them to back off. Your stomach wrenched at the thought of the psycho digging his axe into the man. He tried to help you, to save you; and he was going to die for that. A part of you wanted to say something, to catch your tormentor's attention, to spare that man from a world of pain. But you couldn`t do it. You were terrified, to terrified to speak, to terrified to do anything.

"Fucking hate heroes." You heard another voice, this one darker, rugged. In a blur of white, the man was on the ground; Jeff crouching over him, his boot pressed against the mans throat. "Assholes thinking they`re all good and sweet, how fucking adorable." He sneered, his knife flashing before he carried on to dig into the mans back. You couldn`t bare to look, your eyes falling to the ground as you heard his screams and screech's, followed by gushing, squishy noises.

"I-if you run." The goggled-man was speaking now, his tone as dangerous as ever as he took slow, calculated steps towards you, "I`m going to take your fu-fucking head off."

You could only glare at him. These monsters just killed a man for helping you, they were going to kill you too. Why? Why was all this happening to you? The fear you had become so accustomed too began to die down, something fiery replacing it. Anger. You were angry. Angry at these psychos for doing this to you, for hurting someone because of you. For forcing you into this position; making you weak and terrified. Never in your life had you thought that you would stand idly by while someone got hurt.

These killers had turned you into something you weren`t. And you hated them for it. If you were going to die today, you were going to go out like a badass.

"Go to hell." You hissed at him, your fists clenching tightly.

He paused for a second, as if he was actually surprised by your words. His head tilted ever so slightly before he continued walking, a slight twitch shaking his body before he grabbed you by the throat; pulling you close. Out here, without the smell of that basement plaguing your senses; you were actually able to take in the man in front of you. His scent was odd, he smelled like sandalwood and smoke. Like a fireplace; all cozy and warm without the security. His eyes matched his scent; the shade of brown deep and warm behind his goggles. Unfortunately, his personality contradicted all of that. He was a killer, a monster, a bastard; and you hated him.

"G-ge-getting brave, are we?" his masked face was inches from yours, his height forcing him to lean slightly to make eye-contact. Glaring at him, you drew your good hand back before slamming it into his face with as much power as you could. Damn that felt good.

"It`s like your be-be-begging me to hurt you." His voice was strangely composed as he touched his jaw, feeling it carefully before straightening up to look at you again. You watched him lift his axe, turning it so that the handle part was facing you. Then in a swift movement he brought it down to your face. You braced yourself for impact, waiting for the inevitable. It struck you like lego brick. Yes a lego brick. As if someone flicked a small little toy at you. It was nothing compared to the truck like force you had expected. Heck, it didn`t even hurt.

"Boop." He mumbled, tapping your face with it again.

What the actual hell….?

You were about to say something stupid when Jeff grabbed your wounded hand, throwing you onto the ground before slamming his foot onto it. You screamed a horrifying scream. Your vision becoming incredibly blurry as pain drowned out everything else.

"That`s for hitting me with a lamp." He growled, before lifting his foot. You were trying to adjust to the agony when he pressed his boot into the wound on your thigh. God, he wasn`t going to show you any mercy, was he? Tears began to drip down your face as he kicked your thigh to the side, forcing your legs apart before sitting down in between them. His knee continued to dig into the wound; the pain making it difficult to breathe.

"When I`m done with you," he dug his knee in deeper, and you felt a new wave of blood gush through the sleeve, "You`re going to wish I could kill you… Let`s start with that fucking smile, hmm?"

"Screw you…" you choked the words out, your anger preceding your fear yet again.

"What a wonderful idea." he broke into a fit of laughter at your shocked expression, both his hands coming to tighten around your legs, drawing you in closer. The thought of such a thing sickened you. Curse your choice of words!

Desperately you glanced at the other man, he was standing off to the side, axes hanging in hand as he just looked at you. He`d say something right? Stop Jeff, right? Of course he wouldn`t. Both of them were twisted, both of them wanted to hurt you. Jeff was just more straightforward about it.

"Get the hell away!" your tone was laced with pain, sounding weak and frail. Clearly amused by it, Jeff only gave another chuckle, this time his eyes lighting up as slammed his fist into your jaw. You gasped as your head snapped to the side.

"Can you fucking shut up?" he rolled his eyes, before his hand grasped your mouth. His fingers forced your lips apart as he brought his knife closer, "I should cut your tongue out." You thrashed at the simple idea, trying yet again to fight him, to get away. He frowned at that, his hand releasing you before he struck you once again, harder then the first time.

"J-J-Jeff, we don`t have time for this." The other man finally intervened. You were beyond thankful at this, perhaps the goggled-stranger wasn`t so bad. "Fuck her after we g-get to the cabin." And never mind, they`re both horrible.

"You`re killing the mood." Jeff mumbled.

"G-g-get up." He shook his head disapprovingly, turning his attention to the woods.

"Look at that, Toby`s a big boy now." The killer on top of you stood up now, his attention on the other man now, "Must be nice being the big mans pet."

" _What was that?_ "

Oh shit. The way his voice dropped sent alarm bells ringing in your mind. That tone made one thing clear; this man was not to be fucked with.

"Did I stutter?" Jeff mused, toying with his knife.

The other man- Toby was what Jeff had called him- only glared. His eyes visibly narrowing as he lifted his axe. The tension was thick, suffocating. You attempted to back away, to get away as Toby stalked towards Jeff, his entire body twitching. The hooded-killer just smirked, his grin reaching his limits as he waited for the other man to make the first move.

Everything suddenly went still as another noise was heard. Sirens. Police sirens. The call, you had called them, they were coming! You were going to be okay! You breathed out a shaky, exhausted breath.

The two killers watched the road, noticeably surprised as the squad cars approached.

"Lucky bitch." Jeff looked at you grimly, anger burning behind his eyes before he turned away, dashing into the woods.

Toby on the other hand didn`t move, his gaze darting from you to the now parking squad cars. A police officer quickly leapt out of the car, his gun trained on Toby in no time.

"Put the axe down and get on the ground. Now!" the man ordered.

Toby only watched him, his eyes landing on you one final time before he bolted. The officer shot him in the back, and to your utter shock he carried on running, as if the bullet had no effect. The officer seemed as surprised as you, but rather then giving chase he quickly came to your aid. You heard other cops behind him, a few mumbling to each other, while a group ran the way Toby had.

"It`s okay miss, you`re going to be okay."


	4. Why Clowns?

I had lost interest in this fandom a while ago, but it`s recently returned, and so I have returned to finish this story. I`d be lying if I said I wasn`t having fun with this idea, and so I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it :3

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"More water Miss?"

This was the third time the F.B.I agent asked that question. Then again this was the third time you finished a glass. Since you got into the little, metal bed, your nerves have been on edge, and apparently that resulted in a lot of water consumption. There was one agent, a fairly polite one, that stood beside the hospital bed. His hands were clasped and his smile was soft as he adjusted the recording device on the side-table. A little across the room was the other agent, a stern looking woman with her back to the door. She seemed annoyed and angry, and unfortunately both of those emotions were directed towards you. The other person in the room was the nurse, a timid woman who kept her head down while the officers asked you question after question.

"I know you`ve been through a very traumatic experience." The male officer began to speak as the nurse refilled your glass. "And I know reliving it is the last thing you want, but what you know can potentially save lives."

You wanted that, didn`t you? To help people, to save lives if you could. It was basic morals to cooperate with law enforcement, to help them protect this world in any way they could. This was your civic duty, yet thinking back to the events of yesterday was tormenting. The gash in your thigh seemed to burn simply at the thought of that deranged man, plunging his knife wherever he pleased, all the while smiling that awful smile.

You weren`t sure how you were keeping it together, your hands were constantly sweaty and you couldn`t help but constantly glance at the door. Even with that annoyed agent pressed up against it, a part of you expected the door to burst open at any second. A part of you could picture it perfectly. Those horrifying faces, those insane eyes, the sharp glint of their weapons, as they came to finish the job. As they came to finish you off.

"Do you recognize this man?" the male agent opened the file he had in his hands since he first entered the room. He removed an image before holding it up you. It was slightly blurry, and the figure in it seemed to be turning away, one of his eyes barely acknowledging the camera. You recognized him immediately. It was quite hard not to notice the whiteness of his skin, or the darkness around his eyes.

"Jeff." You whispered, noticing how your voice trembled at the very name. God how you hated him, hated him for making you feel so weak and scared.

"Jeffery Woods." The man nodded, "Notorious serial killer, number three on our most wanted list. He usually kills his victims right away, he`s never kidnapped before."

"I guess I`m special." You mumbled, dry sarcasm lacing your tired voice.

"And this man, do you recognize him too?" the agent now pulled out another image. The man in the image was looking down at the camera, his eyes stern as he looked almost annoyed at the sight of it. His goggles and face-mask gave him away though, and you nodded your head.

"Toby." You replied, and the agent nodded again.

"Tobias Rogers, yes." The man began to explain, "He usually kills with this group of his, we don`t see him on his own much. But once again, we`ve never heard of him kidnapping. So, I know this is difficult but do you have any idea why these men wanted you alive?"

You only blinked up at the agent. There was so much to say, so much to tell. They were cruel, unforgiving, they tortured without remorse and asked unanswerable questions. All that pain, all that distress. And what was the point of it all? Some roommate who left you on your ass months ago? Claire. They wanted Claire. You still didn`t know why, but at this moment, you really didn`t care.

"Look, we`re on a tight schedule." The woman finally spoke, her tone as angry as her expression. "The more time you waste contemplating is more time those killers are at large. For all you know they could have taken more lives. Do you want that on your hands? I get it, you`ve been through hell, and hey, it sucks. But you need to help us prevent that from happening to other. So, fucking cooperate."

"Danvers!" the male agent hissed at his partner, "Show a little compassion."

"Shut up and let me do my job." The woman snapped at her partner before turning to glare at you. "Well?"

You sighed, reminding yourself that this place was safe, that there was no harm in telling them everything.

"I was in my apartment, I don`t know how they got there." You tried not to think too much into it, but you couldn`t help the images that flashed in your mind. Images of that savage tackling you down, images of your feet slamming against the concrete as you ran down the streets. "I got out, I ran, but they caught me…" then what happened? It was quite blurry really. "I woke up in this… dark, disgusting room." And then all that torture began. "After that he, the one with the black hair, well he-"

"Jeffery?" the woman clarified, and you weakly nodded.

"He started asking me about my roommate." You tried to explain, but the woman cut in again.

"Roommate?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Claire, she used to live with me." Once again you were reminded of just how odd your situation was. "I don`t know why they cared about her, but they asked me where she was. I hadn`t seen her in months, I had no answers to give. And well… they didn`t like that."

"Thank you, Miss." The male agent by your bed placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder, his smile warm while his partner turned away with a scoff.

"We need to find that girl before them, come on." The woman was already out the door as her partner scrambled behind her. The last thing you heard was the man promising to leave a guard before their voices disappeared down the hall.

Sleep did not come easily that night, but then again, why would it? You were awakened every hour or so by nightmares, each more horrifying then it`s predecessor. The common theme in all of them was helplessness. In each one you would be running, sometimes down a street, down a hill, even through thick forests. All the while something would be chasing you. Something vicious.

It was around 5a.m. when you woke up again. This time, something was off though. The dull white walls of the hospitals room were no longer visible, and instead completely replaced by something peculiar. You were in a carnival of sorts, rides and vendors as far as the eye could see. Other then the fact that waking up in a random carnival was odd, the fact that it looked abandoned only made it more offsetting.

You were no longer in a bed, but instead sitting on the gravelly ground beneath. Despite the variety of colours, the carnival seemed rather dull. The horses at the carousel, the empty food stalls, even the balloons and decoration; the colours were all faded.

Carefully you climbed onto your feet, now noticing that the bandages around you leg and severed finger were gone, the wounds completely healed. It was that very sliver of relief that helped you realize the truth.

You were dreaming.

It would have been nice if the all those horrible events never happened, but you knew better than to fall for false hope. So instead you decided to indulge the dream, what other choice was there? As you wandered around the empty carnival, you began to take note of a sound. The only way to describe it would have been "off-key". The tune was familiar, almost innocent. You weren`t sure what it was but it reminded you of a child`s nursery rhyme, it had that vibe to it.

Curiously you began following the noise, finding yourself entering a large tent. There were empty seats all around, making a spectacle of the center stage. It was also dark, the only light coming from a few dull light bulbs hanging from the tents ceiling. You noticed how most of the bulbs were shattered, their glassy remains littering the floor. Dread settled into your stomach, and instinctively you began to turn away, deciding it best to leave as soon as possible.

That plan was cut short when a small whimper made itself known. You felt yourself frozen in place as you turned ever so slightly to make out a small figure huddled behind a seat. The figure took notice of you immediately and began to shuffle into the light. You watched as it poked it`s head out from behind the seat, most of its body still hidden as it blinked at you.

It was a kid, no older then 7 years.

His eyes were bright and blue, and his hair looked as if it had seen better days, but for the most part he looked fine. Terrified and fine that is it.

"Hey…" you began to speak, the fear leaving you as you realized your adversary was only a child. "It`s okay, I won`t hurt you. Where`s your mom?" The kid only looked at you, still unmoving, still scared. The sliver of maternal instinct within you took charge, and with the most trusting smile you could muster, you moved closer. "It`s alright. My name`s Y/N, you can trust me." Just as you were about to reach out for him, the boy moved closer. It was then that you saw him in his entirety. While most of his body was intact, his right arm and torso was torn and shredded. An entire chunk of his leg was missing, and you could even see some pieces of bone protruding from his skin. The flesh around his wounds was discoloured, a deep, disgusting shade of purple that had pieces of gore clinging to it.

The sight and smell alone made you turn away and heave, bile rising to your mouth as you vomited whatever imaginary content was in your stomach. Your throat continued to burn as you stumbled away from the boy, torn between pity and disgust.

"Liar…" the boy whimpered the words out as he moved towards you. His eyes looked conflicted and sad, but for the most part pained. Pain that no 7 year old should have to go through. Thank God it`s only a dream. "You let him take me." The boy continued to moan, the agony reflected in his voice, "Everyone let him take me, no one stopped him."

"What? Who?" you tried to stay composed, reminding yourself again and again that you were only dreaming.

The boy shrieked at that, his disfigured legs broke into a sprint as he tackled you. He wasn`t strong, which made sense since he was only a child, but he was definitely vicious. His nails and teeth made purchase in your skin as he clawed and screamed. Luckily you managed to fight him off, your age giving you superior control as you pushed the boy to a distance. There were scratches on your arm and face, but for the most part you were okay.

Suddenly you heard more moaning and whimpers, and in moments more amputated children were crawling out of the rows of seats. One vicious child was no problem, but a few hundred could get quite bloody. Quickly you turned around, and in an instant your legs took off for the exit. Just as you were about to reach it, you slammed into something. Your head was thrown back as you fell onto the ground, colliding with the dirt below almost painfully.

"What`s your rush, doll?"

Despite your dazed expression, you were quite intrigued by what you saw. Towering above you was a clown, dressed from head to toe in black and white. His attire was almost comical if not for the insane glint in his glassy, gray eyes. The groaning of the children in the background forced you onto your feet, and you then realized just how tall the man was. At least he was normal though. At least he wasn`t some zombie child out for your blood.

"My rush is _them_!" you retorted, pointing a finger at the approaching hordes. "Kindly move." Sarcasm once again slipped into your voice as you pushed past him. He laughed as you slipped outside only to find more hordes of children populating the once abandoned fairgrounds. Some of them were queuing for rides while others played games and wandered around. They didn`t look happy though, not as you would expect in a carnival at least. Instead their eyes seemed to hold a certain lifelessness to them, all of their expressions twisted in pain.

"Hmm, you`re in quite a predicament." The man was behind you once again, his voice far too cheerful for the current situation.

"Yeah." You breathed the words out before adding with a hint of sarcasm, "Any ideas?"

"Thought you`d never ask!" he suddenly placed a hand on your shoulder, and you now realized just how sharp his nails were. Well, actually they weren`t nails at all, instead his fingers seemed to extend into claws. "I`ll call them off, they`ll listen to me." He smiled a knowing smile before adding, "If you answer a few questions that is. Honestly."

"Who are you exactly…?" now the discomfort settled in, there was something off about this 'man'. It seemed as the seconds ticked by he started looking less like a man and more like a monster.

"Laughing Jack at your service." He did a flamboyant little bow before smiling a dazzling, unsettling smile. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance and all."

The children in the fairground now began to take notice of you, and you couldn`t help but take a few steps towards the clown. In minutes you would be swarmed, but is that really a bad thing? The worst that could happen was you would wake up. Then again what harm was there in humouring this clowns question. You were a little curious after all.

"What is it you want to know?" you replied rather calmly.

"Name?" he asked rather innocently, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking on the balls of his feet.

"Y/N." you answered easily.

"Age?" he asked with a giggle, as if something about all this was really entertaining.

"Old enough." You replied.

"Now then, where exactly are you?"

That one struck you as odd.

"A carnival? I`m not really sure myself." You managed a shrug, noting how the children were crowded around, circling you yet not moving any closer. They were all just watching, their eyes on the clown rather than you.

"I mean, where are _you._ " He emphasized the word before adding, "Your body, physically."

The hospital, Metro General.

The answer was on the tip of your tongue, but for some reason you didn`t want to give it. That felt a little too personal, too important. You had a bad feeling about just giving it away. Then again if this is all a dream, then you have nothing to fear.

"Why do you care?" you decided to ask, raising your eyebrow as you stared him directly in the eye.

"That`s not an answer." His tone dropped a little, becoming more sinister.

"Neither is that." You managed to say before his hand wrapped around your throat, lifting you up with surprising ease. You were shocked and startled as he squeezed tightly, cutting off your air supply as you squirmed and thrashed. You could see white spots in your vision, and desperately you clawed at his wrists, trying so hard to push him away. You knew it was a dream, yet the pain and terror you felt at this moment was so surreal, you couldn`t help but act like your life depended on it.

"You`re a pretty little thing." He mused before giggling. "choking suits you."

Making any witty remarks was quite impossible with his hand around your neck, so instead you settled for squirming.

"Should I break your legs first? That way you can`t run." He giggled again, "Oh, or maybe I should just skip to the main event. What would you prefer, doll?" He gave you a little shake but you only wheezed in response, your senses slowly began to fail you.

"A little bit of both then?" he chuckled one last time before dropping you.

Waking up would be nice around now.

"I usually play with children… as you can see." The clown glanced at the whimpering mob of kids before locking his gaze on you. "But I`d be lying if I didn`t say I was having fun. Maybe after this is all over, I`ll keep you around. Then we could have fun, forever." His clawed hand grasped your chin, harshly tugging on it to force your head towards him. "There are things I`ve always wanted to try…" he watched you for a moment, his expression almost thoughtful before he cleared his throat. "Now then, where are you?"

You glared at him for a few seconds, catching your breath despite the burning you felt in your throat. The feeling of oxygen entering your lungs was horrible, with each inhale and exhale, you felt a stabbing sensation inside. Still, you tried to speak, letting your determination prevail over your agony.

"Where are you?!" he demanded again, his playful tone now becoming more annoyed.

"Up your ass." You mumbled with a smirk, watching his expression transfer from confusion to irritation to anger.

"Such language." He growled, surprisingly taking a step back. "This is your last chance doll, either you tell me where you are, or I let my little…" he glanced at the children, "… playmates, get into you."

You only glared at him, your willpower not faltering as he glared back. This was a dream. You were 100% sure about that. None of this was real, you had nothing fear. Even if those children dug into you, you`d wake up. That was all that would happen, and honestly it didn`t sound too bad. You wanted to wake up, wanted to be free from this nightmare.

"So be it." He giggled once more before disappearing in a black puff of smoke.

You were a little surprised by that, but there was no time to contemplate considering the zombie kids were now getting closer. There was no point in running, screaming, or fighting back. Instead you remained absolutely still as they surrounded you, their little nails and teeth making purchase in your skin. The pain was the first thing to get a response from you. That awful, awful pain. You felt every bite, every scratch, every vicious little tug. Still, you tried to stay strong, hoping any second you`d wake up.

But you didn`t.

It continued like this, with them tearing you apart. It was horrifying, honestly horrifying. You watched and screamed as they pulled the flesh off of your arms, their nails digging into your stomach. You wanted it to stop, you wanted to wake up, but no matter how bad it got, you couldn`t wake. In all honesty, if this was reality, you would have been dead by now.

"Stop! Make it stop!" you sobbed the words out, writhing and twisting in an attempt to get away. God, it hurt so much.

"Tell me where you are." You couldn't see him, but you heard his words in your head, echoing in your mind, almost tauntingly. What choice did you have? The torture wasn`t slowing down, and you couldn`t take much more of it.

"Metro General!" you cried out.

"Room number?"

Really? The dream had to know the room number too? Sheesh.

"4B." you whimpered, trying to twist away as a kid latched onto your torso, his teeth tearing the flesh away.

"Enough…" as soon as that word left his mouth the children backed away, giving you some room to breathe and cry in peace. The look on their faces was a cross between regret and hunger. Their mouths were dripping with your flesh and blood, the sheer sight making you want to turn away and vomit again.

"Now that wasn`t so hard." the clown was in front of you again, his body lowering as he offered you his hand. You didn`t take it, instead you turned on your side, hugging your battered body as you tried to bite back the bile rising to your throat.

"Have it your way." He shrugged before kneeling down beside you. He ran his clawed hand through your hair, almost in a caring fashion. You cringed away from the touch, but he continued to do it nonetheless. His other hand came to cradle your now torn-up one, and you vaguely felt him slip something into your palm. "A reward for your good behaviour," he whispered.

He stood up now, wiping non-existent dust off his pants. "I`ll be seeing you soon doll, in person that is. Sure can`t wait. We`ll have so much fun."

It was then that the dream began to fade, the carnival setting dissolving into darkness. You awoke startled and scared, cold sweat covering every inch of your shaking body. Your heart was hammering against your chest, it`s beating loud and frantic in your ears. You kicked the sheets off instantly, your head darting around the hospital room, searching for an intruder of sorts. It took five whole minutes before you calmed down enough to lay down.

So, it was all a dream, a terrible, cruel nightmare. What did you expect? After all you`ve been through, nightmares were a given. Those memories would haunt you for life, you knew that now. But at least, it would only be in dreams, and never reality. You released a wary sigh, allowing your head to lay back into the pillow. The thought of more nightmare filled sleep wasn`t too inviting, but you were tired still.

You were just about to close your eyes when you noticed something. Something that somehow slipped your attention before. Sitting up, you noticed there was something in the palm of your hand. Slowly you pulled your hand up to your face, releasing the fingers around it before staring at the object.

Sitting neatly in the palm of your hand was a wrapped piece of candy.

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Rip.

Expect the next chapter soon :3 and please, I`m a complete beggar when it comes to this but please review.


	5. Exposition and Insanity

This was a bad idea. A really, really bad idea. But what other choice did you have? You needed to escape. Not later, not tomorrow, but now. Right now. And so that`s exactly what you did. Tossing the sheets aside you got onto your feet, feeling the sharp sting of the tugging stitches in your thigh. You`d have to move carefully, slowly in hopes of keeping the stitches from tearing. Unfortunately slowing down wasn`t an option, God knows when those monsters would be here. For all you knew they could already be downstairs, maybe across the hall, perhaps they`re already at your door.

Just in case they were, you hesitated a little, glancing around the hospital room before pressing your ear against the door. You couldn`t hear anything. Was that a good or bad? Quietly you opened the door, peeking outside to see a guard leaning against the wall, his eyes on his phone, you presumed he was playing a game of sorts. Once he noticed you he quickly put the phone down, clearing his throat before giving you a stern look.

"Everythin` okay Miss?" he asked quickly.

"No. Everything is not okay." You were about to unload all your fear and frustration on this poor man. "They know where I am. Those killers, they`re coming. I need to get out. I need to get somewhere safe."

"Ya sure `bout that Miss?" the man raised an eyebrow, frowning at you, "How would they know where ya are?"

"Well…" what were you supposed to say? A crazy clown got you to spill the beans through a dream? As if they`d believe that. Heck, even you didn`t entirely believe it. "You`re right. It was all a bad dream probably. Can I… can I go to the washroom? Clear my head?"

"Yeah, whatever." He waved at you dismissingly, turning his attention to his phone as you walked by. He didn`t seem all that interested in keeping you safe, and perhaps that was all the encouragement you needed. Turning the corner, you walked past the washroom, your eyes locking on the two massive double doors that signalled the stairwell. You placed one hand against the door, your mind freezing for a second as you took in the sight of your severed finger. Fingers don`t grow back, and that one mark would be a constant reminder of everything you had been through. It would always be there, always haunting you.

You tried to shake the thoughts away, pushing your hand against the door. It didn`t budge. This confused you, you were certain these doors didn`t come with a lock. Deciding you weren`t trying hard enough, you pushed the door harder, putting all your physical energy into it. It didn`t move an inch. Maybe you could find another way out. Quickly you turned around, all the blood draining from your body as you came eye to eye with the very man that tormented you only moments ago.

He was real. Far too real for you liking.

He sat back on the floor, his head propped on one hand as he smiled that dazzling smile. You also noticed how the hallway had suddenly darkened, the lights going off one by one with only the one above you remaining. Quite dramatic really, it seemed like something straight out of a horror movie. One of those really cliché, cheesy scenes that would make you laugh. Who knew in reality they were so gosh darn unsettling.

"You`re prettier in person doll."

Ah, that voice. There was no doubt in your mind, it was the very clown from your dream. What had he called himself? Jack?

"You aren`t." was your witty reply, your eyes were on him, steady and calm while your mind raced at a hundred miles per hour.

"Such rudeness." He stood up now, and once again you were reminded of how tall he was, his body towering over yours. "And may I add, disobedient. I`m quite certain I asked you to stay put, and here you are planning such a daring escape? It won`t be long now, the boys are almost here."

"I`ll tell you what I told them, I don`t know anything about Claire." Surprisingly you weren`t as terrified as you expected to be. Perhaps being scared all the time could make a person numb to the emotion. Then again you were a little fearful, but not by all that much.

"Oh, I know, I know." He walked right up to you, one clawed hand coming down to move a loose strand of hair behind your ear. "Things have… changed."

You took a step back, moving away from his touch. He frowned at that, almost rolling his eyes. You knew right then you were testing his patience, you needed to get that guards attention. Stat. Perhaps screaming wasn`t the best idea, especially with this clown`s claws only inches away.

"How about a game then?" he didn`t bother touching you again, taking a few steps back himself. "We coul-

"No!" you yelled the word, catching him by surprise as he quite literally jumped. Hopefully the guard had heard that.

"Geez, no need to yell doll." He ran a hand through his hair, looking at you as if you were the crazy one.

"What`s wrong now?" the guard was turning the corner as he spoke, and you breathed a sigh of relief. The guard had a gun, everything would be okay now. He walked up to you, looking annoyed as he scratched the short, ginger hair on his head. "Why are you screamin`? This isn`t the washroom!"

You stared at him, your mouth open in disbelief. Was he blind or just stupid? Did he not see the 7-foot clown in front of you?

"Hello? Shoot the clown?" you gestured toward Jack, a little too irritated to care about anything but the guard`s incompetence.

"Crazy bitch." He whispered the words under his breath but you managed to hear them, your temper flaring. "Look, Miss, you need some rest. C`mon." He walked right up to you, paying Jack no mind as he grabbed your wrist, tugging you away harshly. You struggled at first, angry and annoyed as he pulled you along regardless. The whole time the clown giggled, waving at you as the guard took you around the hall.

"What are you doing?" your tone of voice easily conveyed your frustration. "Don`t you see the clown? He`s one of them, he`s with the killers! Do something?"

"I think ya need to be moved to a psych ward." The guard mumbled, dragging you back to your room before tossing the door open and pushing you inside. You heard him huff another curse before hearing his body lean against the wall again.

Angrily you turned around, wondering what to do next when you realized just how alone you were. Well, you weren`t. Not by a longshot. Instead, laying on his side on your bed was the very clown, his gray eyes boring into your own. You wouldn`t be surprised if he drove people crazy with that little trick. Only five minutes and the guard was already convinced that you were nuts.

Now what should you do? Try to escape again? Only for that guard to toss you back in. No, that was a bad idea. Perhaps you could confront him? Knock out his little clown ass. You considered it, your eyes darting around the room in search of a weapon. The closest thing to a weapon you could find was the metallic food tray on your nightstand. Would that really do any good? Clearly the clown was something more than human. Or maybe…. He wasn`t anything at all. Maybe it truly was all in your imagination. Perhaps that was why the guard didn`t see him?

Still, you weren`t going to take any chances.

"So, I`m crazy now." You stated the words slowly, letting it sink in, trying to grow accustomed to it. Of course, you didn`t buy it for a minute. There was no way you were crazy, there was no way this was a hallucination. Then again… what would a hallucination look like? You imagined something similar. Insanity was honestly so difficult to grasp. Do the crazy ones think they`re sane, while the sane ones think they`re crazy? You weren`t sure, but you opted to hold your wits together.

"It`s not so bad." The clowns grin grew, he had one hand holding his head up while the other toyed with the plain, white bedsheets. "Insanity can be quite fun."

"I think I`ll take boring old sanity." You managed to say, taking a few steps back only to be greeted by the locked door against your back. For some reason folding your arms over your chest made you feel a little secure, and so you stood with a quite guarded posture.

He chuckled at that, finding it very amusing for some reason. You on the other hand were not at all amused.

"A few nights with me and I assure you doll…" he was moving now, sitting up on the bed, arms on either side as he stared at you with a certain predatory glint. "Well, scratch that, one night is more than enough… I`ll drive you insane."

You said nothing, what could you say to him anyways? Provoke him with more stupid banter? Threaten him with empty vows? Ask him questions that would only lead to more confusion?

"Come here…" his voice lingered, sinister, inviting, and oh so horrible at the same time. Yeah, there was no way you were getting close to him. "Still disobedient I see?" he chuckled again, a dark, deep laugh that made you tremble. He aroused both fear and… other emotions that you were not quite ready to deal with. So instead you made a point to dig your back against the door, putting as much distance as humanely possible between the two of you.

He gave a heavy sigh, standing up slowly, taunting you as he began to pace around, not yet coming too close. You kept your eyes on him the entire time, praying there were no zombie children hiding in the corner, simply preparing to attack you again. Hopefully that part would remain only in your nightmares.

"I`ve never been in such a… delicate predicament." His voice held that amused tone you were becoming accustomed too. "I can`t kill you, unfortunate, you`re a real looker doll. Bet you`d look scrumptious nailed to the wall with your organs spilling out…"

You took a moment to swallow the fear in your throat.

"We could play some games…" he continued to suggest, "But I play rough, wouldn`t want to break you before the boys get here. Do you understand now… how strange this is for me? What am I to do with you to kill time?"

You vaguely considered suggesting one of the many board games they kept in the back cupboards to entertain patients. Then again you were sane enough to know better than to indulge the psychopath in front of you. So, you opted for silence, meticulously watching him as he returned the glare with vicious intent. He seemed so inviting really, his attire was goofy looking, his appearance was actually quite charming. But you knew better than to fall for that, you knew better than to fall for his allure. It was all a trap wasn`t it? Just a ruse to get close to his prey before striking.

"But you're a big girl, aren`t you doll?" he was now walking towards you, his frame towering above yours, mere inches away. He moved fast, you barely had time to flinch as he placed one hand beside you, leaning closer as he practically hovered over you. "Would you like to play a grown-up game?"

You figured he wasn`t suggesting poker.

"I`ll pass." You muttered the sentence, wondering if the clown was as insisting as Jeff. After a brief silence he chuckled once again, this time backing away completely.

"You`re quite a bore." He sighed, still smiling as he dropped back onto the bed. "I could never find the fun in rape. Jeffery on the other hand… ah, he`s a creative little bastard."

You couldn`t help but cringe at the thought of him, your body practically aching whenever you heard his name. The wounds he inflicted on you felt fresh whenever you thought of him, picturing those haunting eyes, that sadistic voice, and that god-awful smile. You quickly dismissed him from your head, shaking it off to the best of your ability.

"Why are you doing this… give me a straight answer, please." You could hear the defeat in your voice. "I don`t understand how I`m any use to you, I don`t know where Claire is, I don`t even know why you want her…"

"I suppose it won`t hurt to give you a little exposition." He sat up again, moving to one side to make space. "Come sit with me, and I`ll give you a _straight_ answer."

You hesitated for a good while, weighing your options before moving towards him. If he wanted to hurt you, he could easily do so whether you`re sitting by him or standing away. So what difference would it make to comply to the sickos wishes. Still, you decided to put a little space between the two of you as you sat beside him. That distance didn`t last very long as he moved closer to fill it up.

"See, that wasn`t so hard doll." He said as he placed a single claw on your shoulder, toying with the material of your hospital gown. "Did Claire ever tell you about her family…? I`ll take your silence as a no. Well, believe it or not our little Claire had a few secrets. Some of her juicier ones being her fathers career. Fran-something, something Jones was the top agent looking into the existence of me and my… accomplices, friends is such a loose term. Unfortunately for Mr. Jones, he found a little too much, so much so that he met with an untimely accident. Ah, poor Mr. Jones, he`s resting at the bottom of the Hudson now… well, most of him is at least. I lost some of his head on the gravel." The clown paused to giggle at the memory before resuming, "Turns out, before his death, our agent emailed all his research to another unfortunate soul, his lovely daughter Claire…"

"And you need the stuff Claire has?" you asked, hoping you were on the right track.

"We need Claire dead, and that _information_ destroyed. Try to understand doll, Jones didn`t just find out where we like to spend our Friday nights. He has sensitive stuff… dangerous stuff, secrets my accomplices- and more importantly I- would prefer to keep buried. Does that make sense in your pretty little head?"

"I… I still don`t know where she is." You were once again brought back to that point. "And I don`t know any of your secrets, I`ve never seen the emails, I didn`t even know they existed. My point is… why won`t you let me go?"

"Oh, silly me, forgetting such an important tidbit. Why, you`re the bait. Claire doesn`t have any immediate family anymore, you`re the only one we could find that she might possibly give a fuck about."

"We were roommates yeah, friends and all… but there`s no way she`s giving up her life to save me."

"Yes well, Jeffery did place his money on that. Even called dibs on killing you when the plan failed, the impulsive brat…" the clown was giggling between his sentences again, apparently far too amused to hold it together. "I think Toby betted on you though, better hope he`s right eh? I`ll make it real simply for you doll, when Claire is dead and the emails destroyed, you`re free to go… and if you prove to be useless, well, me and Jeffery will certainly be fighting over the pleasure to kill you."

That was all you needed to hear before you quickly lunged for the metal tray on your nightstand. In an instant, you brought it crashing down against Jack`s face, slapping him in the most satisfying of ways. The clown made a surprised sound as he fell back into the bed, clearly shocked but not hurt as you crawled over to his side, holding the tray over him again.

"Listen here you fucking Juggalo-

"Juggalo? Really? That`s what you-

"Shut up! Say one more word and I swear I`ll smash your head in with this thing."

"You have a violent side to you yet." He chuckled, and you were so tempted to see through with your threat. Luckily for him you were a quite moral person, and the thought of bashing someone's brains in with a metal tray made you sick

"Just one little comment before you carry on trying to kill me doll." He spoke as if he had a trick up his sleeve, and you were quite certain your plan was about to be completely ruined. Not that you really had much of a plan to begin with. "That tray was awfully loud. Isn`t it funny that the guard hasn`t peeked in to check it out?"

It was at that moment that you dropped the tray, your stomaching already churning with fear as you dreaded the face you were about to see. You weren`t sure whether to feel relieved or horrified when you found Toby standing in the doorway, traces of blood and gore leaking on the floor around him. From the corner of your eye you could see a phone laying on its side, the screen still bright while the contents of a game played. Quickly you tried not to think about the guard, instead focusing on Toby. At least it wasn`t Jeff at the door, that pasty-faced monster was out for your blood, Toby on the other hand… was a little more unpredictable really. Maybe it was the fact that the brown-haired man had a bet placed on your survival that made you trust him slightly more. Still, what did it matter, at the end of this Claire would carry on running for her life, and you`d be completely helpless as Jack and Jeff both tore into you.

God, you were about ready to throw up. Good thing there was nothing but water in your system at the current moment.


	6. Wheres the Nearest Exit?

You didn`t remember falling asleep, which was probably why you woke up startled, jumping up and looking around frantically. You didn't manage to get far, realizing your hands were tied behind your back, a black strap found its way across your chest. It took a moment for the sleep to leave your eyes, and after a bit of blinking you managed to make sense of your situation. You were in a car, in the backseat with a seat belt holding you in place. The window sat only mere inches from your face, practically taunting you with how close freedom was. There was a forest outside, skinny, dark trees reaching up for the sky. It was night, or perhaps it was almost morning? Regardless the sky was a certain, eerie shade of gray, very unsettling.

"She`s finally awake."

It was a raspy voice that pulled your attention from the window to the two seats in front of you. The voice had come from the driver's seat, and so you found yourself trying to make out the figure that controlled the car. He was practically engulfed in shadows, you barely managed to notice the tan colored jacket he wore or the sleek, white object that was pulled back over his dark hair. A mask of sorts? It looked like one. He wasn`t wearing it over his face though, thank god for that, you doubted it would be easy to drive with a mask on.

Instinctively you continued to scan your surroundings, taking note of the yellow-clad figure that sat on the opposing seat. He seemed to be hooded, regardless his face was turned to the window, making it impossible for you to see any bit of him. For a moment, you stupidly thought it was only the three of you in the car, then as you quietly readjusted yourself you noticed the man beside you. Caught off guard you whipped your head around, ready to defend yourself. Luckily you didn`t have to, your heartbeat immediately relaxing as you recognized Toby. He didn`t look as threatening as he usually did, instead, his head was lolled back against the leather seats, his eyes closed while his goggles and face-mask rested idly around his neck. Judging by the steady rising and falling of his chest you figured he was asleep.

"Where… where are you taking me?" you`d think by now you`d be used to waking up in strange places with irritable people denying to answer any question you dared to ask. Still, it was simply human nature to be curious, and so you remained optimistic, eyes on the driver as he smoothly turned the car onto an even darker looking road. Perhaps it was your imagination, but it seemed the forest was growing darker and thicker, the road becoming more narrow every passing second.

"You hear that hoodie?" the driver seemed to snicker, "She expects us to answer her? I hate it when they get so comfortable… like I wouldn`t bash their heads in if I got the chance..."

Was he talking to you? You already decided you didn`t like him, not that your preference ever seemed to matter in the long run. Now, back to business, how the hell do you get out of here? You gave your wrists a little tug, honestly shocked when you felt the knots slipping a little. Holy shit… you could honestly slip out of these with a bit of effort. Quickly you glanced at the front seats, they didn`t seem to be paying attention to you, the driver contently tapping his forefinger on the wheel as he drove. You then glanced to your side, Toby seemed as asleep as one could be. You took a moment to form a little plan, going over it in your head again and again. You`d slip out of the binds but keep your hands behind your back, then you could scoot closer to the door, watching the side of the road and waiting to see plenty of foliage. Once you found a soft spot coming up you`d have to act fast, throwing the door open and removing the belt before jumping out into the shrubbery. Then you`d simply have to jump onto your feet and sprint into the woods, hopefully losing your pursuers in the process.

Yeah, it was a pretty terrible plan.

A lot of things could go wrong, but dammit you were not a quitter. If you let these monsters have their way, you`d most certainly die. This was your one shot at survival, and by God, you were going to make it count. You felt the binds slip off your wrists, and after a deep inhale of breath you leaned your head against the window, watching the side of the road. Minutes ticked by like hours, your nerves building up as the dread settled in your stomach. You were terrified, the simple idea of running away terrified you. You were scared the driver would look back, notice your free hands and stop you before you could even act.

You were almost tempted to give up on the little escape plan, the thought of just giving in and sitting back becoming more appealing with each passing second. You were probably going to give in to that when you suddenly noticed a large amount of shrubs coming up on the side of the road. You didn`t even think, your mind completely empty as your tore the seatbelt off, the second you threw the door open was the second the car came to an abrupt spot. You pushed your entire weight out of the car, almost tasting the dirt of the ground when a hand wrapped around your waist. It seemed like in only a second you were pulled back into the car, the door closing as all thoughts of freedom seemed to disappear.

You trembled and thrashed in Toby`s grip, but the killer easily held you to his chest, looking almost annoyed as he stared at the back of the driver`s seat. You could have sworn he was asleep earlier.

"Let me go!" you screamed, a little surprised at how loud you were getting. Apparently being so close to death could do that to a person.

"Want my knife?" the driver, who now resumed driving asked as he ruffled one hand through what you figured was his pockets. "You can cut her tongue out."

This was the second time someone threatened to permanently shut you up. Perhaps if you had the vaguest hope being quiet would save your life, you`d gladly cease to speak. But, you knew it wasn`t going to be that simple, and so you continued to scream. Squirming and thrashing, occasionally your nails would find purchase in Toby`s skin, and you`d viciously scratch at him. All the while he seemed reluctant to hurt you back, instead opting to try to restrain you. Of course, you didn`t make it easy for him, kicking him a little too hard in the jaw. That seemed to be the final straw because the moment he turned back to glare, you knew you had done fucked up. He backhanded you so hard you honestly lost your vision for a moment, your head snapping to the side as you couldn`t help but stumble onto your back.

"She`s fiesty." You vaguely heard the driver speak, his voice passive aggressive.

"Sh-Shut up Tim." Toby seemed even more annoyed as he addressed the driver, his brown eyes turning back to glare at you. He sighed an irritated sigh before grabbing you by the shoulder and pulling you up into a sitting position. You flinched at his touch but he firmly grabbed your chin, turning your face towards him so he could examine you. His eyes were hard and cold, not the warm shade of brown you remembered them as. He turned your face this way and that way before letting you go, not making the slightest bit of eye contact.

"You`ll be fine." He said the words calmly, laying his head back against the seat again, staring up at the cars roof. "D-Don`t try anything stupid again Y/N."

Go to hell, was the reply you came up with in your mind. For obvious reasons you decided not to vocalize your thoughts. The rest of the drive continued in silence, occasionally the driver, Tim, would mumble some sort of complaint to 'Hoodie'. You figured Hoodie was the quiet guy on the other seat. For most of the drive though you were left alone to think through your situation. You tried to come up with new escape plans, you even tried to think of what they`d do to you, where they were taking you. You even thought about the guard, momentarily remembering the puddle of blood you saw pooling around Toby`s feet at the hospital. That guard was dead because of you. Even before that, the man, the father, the one who picked you up off the road when you had escaped the cabin... he was dead too, and it was all your fault. If by some miracle Claire decided to trade her life for yours, she`d be dead too. You honestly couldn`t decide what was the better option, you dying at the hand of these killers, or Claire dying before your very eyes.

The drive didn`t last much longer, you heard the car come to a smooth stop, Toby`s arm wrapping around your waist as he kicked the door open. You were quickly dragged out with him, now noticing that the road had come to an end, black pine trees all around. Toby held you firmly against him, his hands on your wrists as you felt him tightly wrap the binds across your arms. Once he was content with their tightness he whirled you around and gave you a little push, ordering you to walk. Not knowing what else you could do, you obeyed, taking one careful step after the other, the whole while the killer kept one finger on your binds, making it impossible for you to run away. You also had a sneaking suspicion that you couldn`t possibly outrun the men behind you. You didn`t dare turn around but you could vaguely hear the driver chatting quietly with who you assumed was 'Hoodie'.

Your feet were sore and aching when you finally found yourself walking into a clearing, now able to make out the towering building that stood meters away. With thick, dark forest all around it, the building was completely hidden from prying eyes. Not that you expected anyone would willingly snoop around it. There was something about it, something absolutely unsettling. It was large, worn, and honestly creepy. It vaguely reminded you of a gothic mansion, adorned with shattered windows and creaking pillars. The gardens around it were tiresome, most of the plants overgrown or dead. One extreme or the other.

Despite your best efforts, you couldn`t see the mansion in its entirety. It seemed to go on for miles, hints of dark towers and graying ruins making their way into your vision. What the hell was this place? Considering your previous experiences with these sadists, you expected dirty old cabins, maybe even a cave of sorts.

"What is this place?" you couldn`t help but ask, expecting no answer.

"Where pretty little brats go to die."

You instantly recognized that voice, your heart suddenly finding itself in your throat as you took a few instinctive steps backwards. You instantly found Toby behind you, holding you steady as you couldn`t help but stare at the amused looking Jeff who lounged around on the creaking stairs of the mansions porch. Did all those monsters just hang out around here? Were you going to find Jack next?

No, you couldn`t take this, you couldn`t take another second.

You were scared, so terribly scared. Your body remembered the cabin, your body remembered Jeff sinking his knife into your thigh. Quickly you pulled away from Toby`s grip, taking a few steps away from him as well. You remembered the way he held your hand up against the wall, you remembered those brown eyes as he took his axe and severed your finger. With the stress and helplessness sinking in you found your eyes darting from Toby to Jeff, not sure which one to hate more. You wanted to run, you couldn`t bare the thought of being tied up in another basement, subdued to even more torture before they finally killed you.

Oh god, were you crying?

Your finger carefully came to your face, feeling a warm tear trailing down your cheek. You heard someone behind you laugh at that, and with one quick glance you found yourself completely surrounded. The driver stood tall, built rather strongly with a painted white mask over his face, hiding what you figured was an amused expression. Beside him stood the ominous 'Hoodie' you had heard so much about, adorned in an expected yellow hood, his face hidden behind a dark mask of his own. They were all insane sickos, and at this moment they stood at either side of you. They were going to drag you into that building, then you`d only find more monsters, more knives, axes, clawed clowns and zombie children to tear off more of your flesh.

You were beginning to feel insane, scared and desperate too… but mostly insane. Can fear drive people crazy? Well, you`d find out sooner or later.

Jeff swiftly stood up, his hands sinking into the pockets of his white hoodie as he took one dramatic step after the other. He was right in front of you in a moment, and in all your fear you couldn`t find the courage to move, to scream, to smack him right in his ugly face.

"Boo." He whispered the word, smirking that awful smile before reaching out to touch you. He thankfully never got the chance, Toby`s hand wrapping around Jeff`s wrist to stop him. The two didn`t say a word to each other, instead, brown eyes simply glared at black ones until Jeff rolled his crazed eyes and tugged his hand away.

"Whatever." The paler killer turned his attention to the driver and 'Hoodie'. "The big man`s been waiting for you guys. You too Toby, toss the brat in the cells and hurry up, I don't enjoy being the fucking messenger."

"Cells?" Toby clearly didn`t like the idea of that, "J-Jack`s keeping his food in there."

Jack? Were they talking about the clown?

"So?" Jeff gave a little, unamused shrug.

"So…" Toby seemed to twitch before continuing, "The prisoner, he`ll eat Y/N alive, mans been star-starving for five days."

At this point you were honestly confused. So, Jack, who you assumed was the clown kept his food in the cells? And this food would eat you alive because it- no, he- is starving. The food is a person. Jack eats people?! Oh God, there were other people here, other prisoners, and they were apparently starving and ready to cannibalize you. Fucking perfect…

"Well…" the driver was speaking now, moving closer until he was behind you. You practically shivered as he placed a hand on your shoulder, you could feel all the aggression he was emanating. "Me and Hoodie could keep her until go time… What`s the rule? We can`t kill her, right? Hey Brian, remember that torture method Ben saw in one of his games? We could finally try it out. How does it go? Needles straight down the finger, under the nail?" you could tell he was grinning as he spoke, his mask trained on your horrified expression. "Well, we can experiment."

You absolutely hated yourself for what you did next, but you knew it was the smartest thing to do. With the sadist driver on one side, and a lingering Jeff on the other, you obviously backed up into Toby`s chest. You tilted your head upwards, catching the surprise in his brown eyes as he looked down at you. He was your best bet at survival, or at least a less painful death. You didn`t trust him, and you would gladly stab him in the back to get away, but compared to the alternatives you needed to get Toby to fight for you. For the slightest second, you felt pretty smart, a sliver of hope strengthening itself inside you.

"Please let me stay with you." You bit back all thoughts of hate, fear, and anger, sounding as vulnerable as you were as you said those words to him. Toby only blinked down at you, not saying anything as the others watched him carefully.

"Aw isn`t that cute." The driver spoke bitterly, as passive aggressive as ever. "I don`t think she understands who she`s dealing with." He didn`t move any closer, but you could feel his mask boring into you. "I hope you don`t think Toby`s going to keep you all warm and safe. Man`s a fucking sadist… heh, you`ll find out soon enough."

"I don`t know guys…" it was Jeff that spoke next, his lidless eyes glaring accusingly at Toby, "He seems soft on her."

"Are we talking about the same Toby?" the driver, Tim, turned his mask towards Jeff, clearly not believing him. "Come on Brian, big man needs us." On that note, the driver and Hoodie walked past Jeff, heading towards the large double doors that stood at the entrance of the mansion.

The paler killer watched the doors for a moment, the corners of his lips arching down, forming as much of a frown as he could considering his mutilated smile.

"LJ`s already trying to get in contact with Claire…" Jeff was speaking to Toby now, "He hasn't been able to in weeks, but he thinks he`s getting close. Well whatever, fuck it for all I care. Point is, when I see Y/N next, she better be bruised and battered. Always knew you were a fucking softie, just another one of Slendys tools eh…? Yeah, figured. I`ll see you around."

Toby didn`t say anything and Jeff only scoffed in response, turning away before walking away just as dramatically as he had entered.

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I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter, expect the next one soon. I`ve got a lot planned for these two, as well as addressing some plot holes. Anyways, thank you so much for all the hearts and as always, please leave a comment :3


	7. Laying The Ground Rules

You weren`t entirely sure what to think as Toby led you through the mansion. Perhaps mansion wasn`t the right word, when you think of a mansion you think of something lavish and luxurious. This place was neither of those things, instead it was quite the opposite. It looked unsettling, empty, and quite creepy to be honest. The walls were chipped and dark, the occasional stains making you wonder what in the world went on in this place. Well, you actually had a few ideas about what went on. It didn`t take much for you to notice the dark red drops on the wooden floors, or the old, torn-up furniture. Most of the lights didn`t work or were missing, but you did vaguely notice sound and luminescence coming from certain rooms, not that you got close enough to investigate.

Toby had a very particular way of guiding you. Instead of leading the way like you expected, he walked behind you, casually telling you when to turn right, when to go left, when to move towards the stairs. Yes, that`s right, stairs. You were walking up the staircase at this very moment, not appreciating how confining it was. With the railings on one side, creaking wood below you, and a psychopath blocking you from behind, you had no other choice but to comply.

From what you had heard and seen so far you were certain of one thing. There were a lot of people in this… estate, yeah, let`s call it an estate. Thought you couldn`t see them all, you saw traces of their existence everywhere. From the sounds of televisions, to the hushed chattering and the occasional room lights being switched off. The only question in your mind was who they were. More killers like Toby and Jeff? Or perhaps more victims like you? No, wait, you remembered the officers when you were at the hospital. They had told you how odd it was for the killers to be kidnapping, that they usually murdered their victims.

You were all alone in a house of monsters, weren`t you?

"Turn r-right, se-second door." He awkwardly cleared his throat, and you didn`t bother turning to look at him as you followed the order. Your feet, which were quite tired from trekking through the woods, obediently made their way down the hall. You kept your eyes on the unstable looking wooden floors, occasionally peeking at the walls from the corner of your eyes. There were no paintings or decorations, but the walls did seem a lot cleaner on the upper levels.

"Are there people here….?" You asked the question with a bit of uncertainty, wondering if he minded you speaking. "I mean… people like me."

"Open the door." Was his only response, and not daring to disobey you followed his order. The room was a bedroom of sorts, and surprisingly quite tidy. It wasn`t anything lavish or extravagant, instead it was pretty plain. There was a queen-sized mattress on a thin, metal bedframe against a wall. In the corner of the room sat two sets of those cheap, plastic drawers you could buy at Wal Mart. By the looks of it they were filled to the brim with clothes and other smaller things you couldn`t quite recognize. Other than that, you noticed a dark but hefty duffel bag sticking out from under the bed, across from it was another door in the wall, you assumed the bathroom. All in all, it wasn`t how you`d decorate your room, but at least there weren`t blood stains littering the floors.

"Walk." His voice was rather quiet, but with a deep sigh you did as he said. He walked into the room as well, moving past you, his hands in his pockets as he moved towards the center of the floor. "Close the d-d… door."

That particular request was a little difficult, your eyes were staring at the door knob as if it dictated your survival. Were you really ready to seal yourself in a room with a known serial killer? A killer who in the past has shown you just how vicious he could be? Your hand trembled at the thought, the absence of your finger impossible to miss. It took a minute of silent struggle before you finally slammed the door close.

Next you turned to him, wondering if he was annoyed, angry maybe? No, he wasn`t. His brown eyes just stared at you in the calm way he did. What was his deal anyways? You weren`t an idiot, you knew there was no affection or sympathy for you in his eyes. You were smarter than that. Proven serial killers don`t go soft on their victims all of a sudden after a few days. Silently you considered the possibilities. Was it because you were a woman? Was it a sexual attraction? You`d find soon enough, after all you had just locked yourself in a room with him, a bedroom at that too. If he was looking for some sexual satisfaction you really could do nothing but comply. What would fighting get you? Another slap to the face? Maybe he`ll take another finger?

"You d-d-d…" he paused, sighing for a moment, "You d-don`t leave this room. They`ll kill you outside that door." His eyes briefly travelled from your nervous frame to the door before his eyes once again settled on yours. "They aren`t patient, they won`t wait for your execution. No one`s stupid enough to break into my room, but in those hallways, on that staircase. If y-you`re seen, you`re dead, understand?"

You nodded.

"Good." He took a few steps back, sitting down on the bed, his hands on either side of him as he rolled his shoulders back, relaxing a little. "Th-that`s rule one."

"How many rules are there?" you asked, and he gave a rather comforting, little smile.

"Rule two…" he ignored your question as he continued, "If you disobey, rebel, _try_ to escape. I will hurt you. I s-say try because you won`t succeed. Ever. If by s-s-some miracle you make it out the front door… I will break your legs. There is a sledgehammer in the basement for ju-just this reason. Understand?'

You nodded a little quicker this time.

"When I`m not here, you can have the bed." He gave the mattress a little pat, "I us-usually won`t be here. The washrooms right there, don`t ever lock its door, it won`t keep me out. Instead… I`ll have one broken down door to fix, and a disobedient prisoner to torture… o-okay? Good. Right, you need clothes." he stood up at that, steadily moving towards the drawers before beginning to rummage. You glanced down at yourself, indeed noting that you were in a dirty hospital gown and nothing more.

"H-here." He stood before you all of a sudden, and yet again you wondered how he moved so quickly without you noticing. Quietly you accepted the balled-up clothing he handed you, assuming it was his. It was honestly a kind gesture, and that bothered you so much. Why was he doing this? Being considerate, being as kind as a sadistic bastard like him could? You simply had to know.

"Why are you treating me so… kindly?" you hoped it wasn`t an insulting thing to say, and so you carefully watched his expression. His warm brown eyes didn`t waver, his expression remaining as composed as it always had.

"You misunderstand…" he took a few steps back, his hands once again finding their way into his pockets. "I d-d-don`t care about you. I would kill you if I c-could. But I can`t right now. My… boss, he needs you alive, and I _will_ keep you alive, until he`s done with you." That cold look in his warm eyes told you he wasn`t kidding. You were mistaken to think the killer had some liking towards you, it was all part of his job wasn`t it? Some messed up loyalty, a need for duty. Pathetic. "I`m being kind because I hope i-it`ll make you b-behave… if it doesn`t, I won`t be kind." He was smiling again, his hand coming to his mouth as if to cover up an almost chuckle. "Did you think I… I cared about you?"

Your natural instinct tempted you to lash out at the accusation, but common sense made you smarter. So, you opted to do nothing, just folding your arms over your chest as he finished his half-hearted chuckling.

"You won`t hurt me as long as I listen… but what about what Jeff said? He said if I wasn`t bruised an-"

"Sh-shut up." His voice was still level, but he did speak a little more impatiently now. "Jeff is an impulsive, arrogant little fucker who`s deluded himself into th-th-thinking he can take me in a fight…"

You didn`t say anything, easily sensing the aggression Toby was beginning to give off. So, the man clearly didn`t like Jeff, well, that was one thing the two of you had in common.

"Go change." He sighed the order, his hands moving to remove his hatchets from their holster. For a moment, you feared for your life, but soon calmed down as you saw him open the duffel bag and drop them in it. Instinctively you noted down that piece of information before turning away and heading towards the washroom. He said nothing as you quietly closed the door, almost tempted to lock it before thinking better and instead focusing on your clothes. Surprisingly the bathroom was actually very… pretty? Clean? Well-lit? A little bit of everything. It looked like a very normal washroom, fitted with nice rugs and an array of sanitization necessities. You couldn`t help but snoop a little, noting that murderers used Colgate toothpaste and Dollar Shave Club razors.

Naturally you began by stripping down, your eyes on the mirror as you examined your body. There were still bandages wrapped around your thighs and fingers, perhaps it would be wise to change them, but you didn`t really have anything to change them with. So, you decided to ignore the wounds, instead turning to scrutinize your features. It was no secret that your body had seen better days, you were a little leaner than you usually were, no surprise considering your diet the past week. Your hair looked pretty tangled and bedraggled too, not to mention there were bags under your eyes and… oh god, a bluish bruise stood notably against the skin of your cheek. You briefly remembered Toby slapping you in the car.

Your eyes lazily glanced at the shower behind you, it looked clean, it looked inviting. Then your eyes went back to the door. You weren`t insane, you knew this wasn`t some guest hotel for you to get all comfortable in. All the monsters here wanted your head, only one of them was willing to wait his turn for it, there was no way in hell you were going to provoke him. Quickly you began to unravel the ball of clothing, identifying a rather large, gray T-shirt before slipping it on. It loosely hung around your ass, and was quickly followed by a pair of jeans…

Jeans that didn`t fit at all, despite your best efforts you couldn`t keep the hem from slipping off your waist, heck the pants were way too long for your legs too. There was no way you could walk in these without them slipping off or with you tripping on the excess fabric. Turning back to the mirror you gave the shirt a tug, wondering just how low you could get it to go. Even though it hung well over your ass, you didn`t feel at all comfortable in it.

Then again Toby had seen your legs before.

When you were chased out of your apartment, when you were kidnapped and holed up in that cabin… you did not have pants on. You remembered the sweater and underwear you wore when you had fled the killers for the first time.

Fuck it.

On that note you opened the door, flicking the washrooms lights off as you awkwardly tiptoed into the room. The killers back was to you, his arms over his head as he was in the middle of slipping a T-shirt on. You briefly caught a glimpse of his naked shoulders and back, noting just how toned he was. Yeah, you were quite certain there was no way you could take that man in a fight. What did make you a little curious was the lack of bullet holes in his back. You quite distinctly remembered him being shot when the cops had arrived to save you that time. Maybe you just missed it, or perhaps he was wearing a bullet proof vest then? Yeah, you doubted it.

With that done he turned to look at you, obviously knowing you were standing there. Now without his mask, goggles, or dirt and blood stained attire on, he looked quite… normal. Not knowing what else to do you returned his stare, noticing how his eyes went down from your face, to your chest, before stopping at your stomach. He didn`t look any lower, instead his attention returned back up your eyes. It was then that you remembered you were pantless.

"They… didn`t fit." You managed to say.

"I`ll talk to Ben, his might fit you." Toby mumbled, taking a few steps towards his bed before dropping on his back against the mattress. His arms came to rest behind his head, his eyes now on the ceiling. Is this what he did in his free time? Now that you thought about it there wasn`t any means of entertainment in his room. No television, no radio, no books. You honestly didn`t care about the killers lack of hobbies, but you did care about the fact that you`d be spending a week locked up in some room with nothing but talking and sleep to pass the time.

"Ben?" you decided you might as well try to get used to talking to him then, "Is he like you?"

"E-ev-everyone here but you, is like me." Was his simple answer.

"What about that man? You said Jack was keeping a man in a cell?" you quickly remembered the killers discussing the cell.

"Th-that man will be dead soon. Jack will have dissected him before tonight."

"Dissected?" honestly you shouldn`t be surprised this point, all these monsters here were demented.

"Kidneys, J-J… Jack eats them." Toby gave a slight twitch before sinking further into his mattress. It looked soft.

"So, the clown controls zombie children and eats kidneys, sure, why not." You wouldn`t be surprised if you lost you sanity before tomorrow.

"Not that Jack." He spoke briefly.

So, there were two Jacks? Great, absolutely great. So far including the two Jacks, Toby, Jeff, Ben, Tim, and Hoodie, that was seven psychopaths under one roof. Wait, there was also a boss. That makes eight. Well, eight that you knew about. For all you know there could be many more.

"Why?" your eyes narrowed in on his laying figure as you spoke, your back finding itself against a cold wall before you sank down into a sitting position. "Why do you kill people? Why do you work for this… boss?"

"L-let`s just say it wasn`t by choice." He scoffed

"I`m going to die, aren`t I?"

He only hummed in response.

"I`m going to spend my last days in this little room…" you continued.

He remained silent.

"You betted on my survival, Jack told me."

No response.

"Tell me why?" you clarified.

"I`m an optimist." He said rather cheekily, now clearly amused. "Your mundane life is over… you won`t get it b-b-back. But, if you`re smart…" he didn`t finish the sentence, and you didn`t need him too.

Your options were all laid out in front of you. Despite the creeping insanity and hopelessness, you weren`t ready to give up. Perhaps you were too stubborn, or perhaps you were also an optimist. Regardless, you knew your choices.

Your eyes briefly went to the duffel bag, your mind picturing the hatchets that lay snugly within it. He had placed them there in front of you, he knew you were watching, obviously he didn`t think you a threat. You`d prove him wrong. Let`s see how the little fucker feels when you chop his fingers off… okay, well, you weren`t that sadistic. But still, you were desperate, the idea of killing someone to escape didn`t sound too bad.

Another option though was to play his little game, to win him over, to use your mind and mouth to befriend him. You had some time before they`d contact Claire, some time to talk to him, to get into his head. To make him care about you, to make him keep you around.

He was a killer though. A monster. Even if by some miracle you took him out, there were still seven other monsters standing between you and that front door. Not to mention an entire forest for you to navigate before finding any traces of civilization. If they stopped you, if _he_ stopped you, there would be no way he`d ever trust you again. If you failed to escape you would never win him over, your death would be certain, and the fucker would probably torture you too.

You trembled as your mind pictured Tim shoving those blades down your nails.

Gulping down the lump in your throat, you took a deep breath, your eyes finding Toby laying rather calmly on the mattress, his chest rising at that steady pace a sleeping person would sport. You knew better than to fall for that though, and so you stayed rather guarded as you leaned into your spot against the wall. You weren`t tired, you had slept in the car, and in all honestly despite how reasonable the man before you was, you didn`t feel at all comfortable sleeping in his presence. So, with a heavy heart you hugged in your knees, burying your head in your arms as you contemplated the long day you had ahead of yourself.

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So, what do you guys think you would do?

As always, feedback appreciated, heck I honestly live for the comments. Oh, the hearts are nice too of course, I`m really grateful. Thank you guys so much! I`ve got plenty of action planned for the next chapter and I`m also quite eager to start building sexual tension. Not the lovey-dovey kind of course, but… well, you`ll see. Till next time~


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